Every PM should know the Double Diamond by heart. But using it is an easy way to fail as a PM. It’s a highly linear process without any feedback loops. And it ends with launching a product. So, it doesn't represent Product Discovery. In the epic YouTube video, Natasha Jen referred to this linear process as “Bullsh*t,” arguing that creativity is much messier: https://lnkd.in/dzuqhP5N --- How to fix those issues? 1. Add iterations The first step is embracing the messy nature of product discovery, with many iterations possible at every step. 2. Get rid of developing and releasing Product Discovery results in a validated Product Backlog, not in launching your ideas. Thus, I suggest redefining the two phases: - Replace "Develop" with "Ideate": In this phase, we brainstorm possible solutions and explore hidden assumptions. - Replace "Deliver" with "Test": In this phase, we test selected assumptions and pinpoint ideas we want to take into implementation. 3. Embrace Continuous Discovery and Continuous Delivery We got rid of developing and releasing ideas. In Continuous Discovery and Continuous Delivery (aka Dual-Track Agile), this is the second stream that runs in parallel: - The goal of Product Discovery is to discover the product to build. - The goal of Product Delivery is to deliver the product to the market. --- In my new free post (no email, no paywall): https://lnkd.in/d7hvsuw9 - The Double Diamond of Design Thinking - How to Add the Missing Pieces? - The Double Diamond of Product Discovery - The Triple Diamond of Product Management (Beta) Can't wait to get your feedback. What are your thoughts?
Wait, wait, wait. Are we talking about the same Double Diamond by the Design Council in the year 2024? - Double Diamond is not linear and never was considered to be fully linear. It always included iterations, especially in the Develop and Deliver phases. - It has long evolved since 2004 and at least the last few official iterations explicitly show loops and callbacks in the model, as seen here: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-resources/framework-for-innovation. - Replacing Develop with Ideate is reductive. Ideation as a practice is a part of the Develop phase, along with seeking inspiration and co-creation. I do understand the problem with the outdated name. - Double Diamond might end in releasing the product to the market, but it doesn't have to. Deliver phase (again the problematic name) does mean delivering tangible artifacts that can be tested, at smaller or larger scale, and building upon the results of such tests. - Some people even argue that Double Diamond should be extended with the post-Delivery Implementation phase. Well, that's where the Triple Diamond comes from. (continuation below)
1. Add iterations - Completely agree! 2. Get rid of developing and releasing - It's not that simple here. Idea/Hypothesis -> Development -> Test -> Delivery. I absolutely agree that delivery should be eliminated, it should be continuous + the code does not change so often. Most people use Git, K8S, Docker, which simplifies the work very much. What remains is Idea/Hypothesis -> Development -> Test It seems to me that the 3-step cycle is simple enough to simplify it further. What do you think? Thanks for post!
I like the different perspectives, nicely put Paweł! Having feedback loop at every stage really helps and saves a lot I think. Also can we add few cohorts of customers test the product with real data before it goes live?
I agree that embracing the messy nature of product discovery is essential for success. Adding iterations and redefining the phases of ideation and testing can help achieve this. Additionally, embracing Continuous Discovery and Continuous Delivery can further enhance the product development process. Looking forward to reading more about the Double Diamond of Product Discovery and the Triple Diamond of Product Management in your post.
Product discovery is a must do activity for PMs and product teams. and if they don't do it, they bound to fail. But do we really need more shapes/frameworks? Product discovery is messy, indeed. placing it in a neatly shaped diamonds won't change it. We still have to do it, though.
It depends where you start from as a company tbh with a very low product maturity, it's better to start from there than to improvise anything - it's hard to get buy-in on "I would like to experiment and do continuous delivery/discovery" if everything the company has always known is Waterfall
This is insightful, I learnt this when I was figuringout structured process for product development. And I learned practically Feedback & Iteration are two important steps that creates magic in the PMF stage for any feature / Product. But yes, The above shared is the go to discovery formula.
I totally agree. We need capture feedback before we start to code.
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1moThe Triple Diamond of Product Management